Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Town Hall Gun Show

Obama had stated the following back in April of 2008,

You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

I think this is interesting because now you have reports of Americans showing up to town hall meetings brandishing firearms. Although it is their constitutional right, I think it is increasingly alarming, considering the level of emotions at these meetings, where people are crying, yelling, and causing disruptions, not to say that that is horrible, but just alarming. Obviously these people are bringing out the guns as a form of protest, because the right wing interpreted Obama's above quote as an assault on the Second Amendment (remember the Homeland Security report on home grown terrorists too), as well as recent claims that he is looking to socialize medicine, and in turn, the nation. I also find it interesting when pundits call the United States a "Christian" nation...

Did Obama call it?

I feel that the GOP propaganda machine has been working overtime, introducing its newest props... Americans. Much like the famed flip-flops of 2004, the GOP is pushing the buttons of working Americans. The plan is simple. Upset the people. The people go to the polls. The people elect good conservative Americans to office. Now that they are upset, they are doing what the GOP has told them to do... cling to their guns and religion and they are bitter against people who are not like them. Granted this quote is more about isolationist sentiment, I think it bears some relevance to the recent events.

What confuses me is what I hear about Obama. I hear he is a communist, his "czars" are registered communists, he wants to control my life, he is going to take away my right to bear arms, my free speach, etc. etc. etc. It sounds more like "Demolition Man" with Sylvester Stallone except Obama plays the role of Dr. Raymond Cocteau. Why must Republicans paint this impressionist picture the administration? They are acting like a bunch of rabble rousers.

Back to guns. When I think of the second amendment, I think of two things. First, I consider the times when the constitution was drafted, and secondly, I think of the language used in the amendment itself and how it relates to the average American. Given the technology of the military today, do you really believe a well-armed militia can defeat the army, navy, air force, or marines? Times have changed from the colonial era. You could also look at the language of the amendment. Does it protect militias, or everybody? My understanding and interpretation is that everybody is to be protected, and considering the recent Supreme Court ruling that determined the District of Columbia's handgun ban to be unconstitutional, they had also found that the amendment was not "unlimited". I agree with the saying that if you outlaw guns, only outlaws would have guns, but to a certain extent. This brings to mind the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, allowed to expire by President Bush. So what is the point of all this?

What are these protesters, who choose to tote their guns, trying to say? Do they want to carry machine guns on the streets to protect themselves from danger? Do they want to rise up against a tyrannical form of government by use of force? Do they simply want to hold onto their handgun for protecting their family? Do they even know what they are standing for?

I believe they are concerned about this nation, just as much as anybody else, but are being misled (mostly by right wing pundits) to believe their rights are slowly being chiseled away... but not like they were under the Patriot Act, but I'm sure these same people would feel the Patriot Act is, well, patriotic.